Golden Hour approaches. The moment of reckoning, when our IndieGoGo campaign ends. For those just now tuning into this site, my name is Anne Lower. That rhymes with “Flower.”

I am an independent filmmaker living in Los Angeles.

I made the move to indie film b/c I felt myself creatively castrated by the studio system. I was tired of the cookie-cutter approach towards storytelling, and as a female filmmaker, I encountered resistance in others to placing faith in me. So, I decided to make my own project.

I wanted to write about social issues: addiction, violence against women, the sex trade industry, isolation, poverty and corporate greed. And, as a resident of a city where millions live, but few know their neighbors, I decided to create a world of outsiders… I decided the ultimate outsider would be a supernatural being. And so the world of “They Live Among Us” was born.

Part gothic romance, part urban horror and part film noir, TLAU tells the story of supernatural beings –  fallen angels and spirits, and the mortals they love. Set against the backdrop of Los Angeles, it explores a grittier side of the city. The mean streets. Raymond Chandler meets Stephen King, in a place known as the City of Angels.

Going indie means that you have to acquire your own funding. And so, I turned to crowdfunding.

We are trying to raise $600 / per minute for our little dream project. Many films cost close to 1 mil per minute. If you want to see what I can do with little, please watch Ep 1-3, which we made this for 12k combined.

For the next installments, I must improve sound and lighting, and the safety for cast and crew. We have to have insurance… and we have to have permits. LA is a very expensive place to shoot in! But the city is a character in the story – an integral one at that.

I am so grateful to all who have donated! And I am asking others to dig into their sofas, their cars and their pockets. $15 goes a long way!

I am so grateful to be surrounded by such a generous and talented cast and crew. I love them all. Every one.

Going indie means that you have the freedom to come work from the heart – and the soul. And that’s what I’ve done! I even Tweeted non-stop for 72 hours last week – without sleep – to share my dream project with you. And, I tweeted Naked. 🙂

Working on 12k meant we encountered some dangerous situations. Here was 1 night I wrote about for Film Courage. I also blogged about that night, about what it was like to work with such personal content and raw emotion.

Take a look at the articles. Watch the episodes on my site. Listen to my interview on Cutting Room Floor.  For your amusement, take a look at the Tweet-a-thon vids. All made in fun, all for the love of  “They Live Among Us.” And don’t forget to read about my encounter with a possible real-earth angel.

Then, visit our IndieGoGo campaign, and please consider making a donation. By doing so, you’re joining our tribe.

Pledges begin at $1. If, at this point, you don’t want to pledge… I’d like to know why! Email Me . We have had over 12,450 referrals to our campaign. If each of those people pledged $1 we would now be beyond goal… and I’d be blogging about the script, the story and the characters instead of raising money.

Thank you for all of your support of this dream project.

~ anne